A news-based journal on the Boston restaurant scene. The owner of this blog is also the founder of Boston's Hidden Restaurants, a website that focuses on local dining spots.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Moonshine 152 to Replace Franklin Cafe in South Boston

[Ed note: This article was updated on November 19 to reflect confirmation of this news, though the new restaurant will have a slightly different name.]

It looks like the South Boston location of a group of award-winning restaurants is closing, and a new dining spot is moving in.

The Boston Hospitality and Tourism Industry Blog is reporting (via Boston Herald writer Donna Goodison) that the group behind the Franklin Cafe on Dorchester Avenue is petitioning the city of Boston to sell the business to a dining spot that would tentatively be called Moonshine Kitchen, which seems to correspond with a tip we heard in late October from a source within the restaurant industry. Our source mentioned that the prospective owner of the proposed Moonshine Kitchen is Asia Mei, who has been the chef at Sam's at Louis, a restaurant at Fan Pier on the Boston waterfront. (This appears to be confirmed by Bizapedia.) It looks like the other locations of the Franklin Cafe in the South End (their original location) and Gloucester will remain in business.

[November 19 update: The Boston Globe confirms that the Franklin Cafe in South Boston is indeed closing, and that Moonshine 152 (not Moonshine Kitchen) will take its place.]

[December 3 update: Boston Magazine states that Moonshine 152 plans to open sometime in January, and that the restaurant will feature New American fare along with a late-night menu that has Asian and Latin American influences.]

[December 31 update: According to a Facebook post from Asia Mei, the Franklin Cafe in South Boston closes at the end of business hours today.]

The Franklin Cafe, which opened in the South End in 1996, Gloucester in 2000, and South Boston in 2008 has received countless awards over the years for its comfort food, late-night dining, and cocktails. Other restaurants under the same ownership include Tasty Burger and The Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar.

The address for the South Boston location of the Franklin Cafe (and Moonshine 152) is 152 Dorchester Avenue, South Boston, MA, 02127.